Well, it seems summer is definitely on its way out and we must prepare to welcome in the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. I doubt there is anyone who welcomes the autumn more than Sophia Lathan, who runs Wildheart, an organisation which organises events and retreats that enable people to reconnect with nature. This is the time of the year when Sophia’s foraging expeditions yield berries and nuts. She has been strongly influenced by the aboriginal communities of Australia and, having worked with them closely, now aims to bring their much-needed wisdom to the modern world.

While there are no witchetty grubs in the Oxfordshire countryside, Sophia is happy to show us the abundance of autumn fruits that is to be found if we are happy to spend time foraging for them. That said, she stresses the importance of leaving some for the creatures who inhabit the fields and hedgerows she explores. However abundant a crop, foragers should never strip a tree of all its fruit, or take more than a third of anything they find.

Carrying a basket to collect autumn fruits and herbs, Sophia conducts gentle guided foraging walks along the River Thames towpath opposite Port Meadow, concluding the excursion with a meal at The Perch in Binsey.

Blackberries are the most prolific of the fruits growing in this area. As wild blackberries seem to have a deeper, richer flavour than cultivated ones, and can be used to flavour sweet and savoury dishes, they are well worth gathering. You will need a plastic bag or container to trap juices that can leak from baskets or paper bags.

Crab apples are easier to pick as there are no brambles to clamber through and the fruit is clean and crisp. Crab apple trees are the ancestors of our cultivated apples, and are smaller and sharper than a modern apple. That said, they can be used to make a cider-type wine or delicious jellies. When simmered together with ripe red haws from the hawthorn they make for a tasty accompaniment to cream cheese.

Sloes are equally sharp — so sharp, in fact, they are impossible to eat as they are. However, if you soak these little purple fruits in gin, you will have a delicious festive drink by Christmas. It is thought that sloes are best picked once we have had the first frost, which softens their flesh. So they are not quite ready yet. They are ancestors of the juicy domesticated plums we love today.

The bright orange/red rose hips from the wild rose is one of the best sources of Vitamin C. When dried, they make a great herb tea, and when turned into a syrup they become a health-giving drink. The elderberries which are ripening now, hanging in clusters throughout the hedgerows are particularly useful. They can be combined with blackberries to make jelly or turned into wine. As elderberry wine contains a great deal of tannin, it will not be ready for Christmas, but when you do open a bottle next summer it can be enjoyed diluted with soda or tonic for a refreshing drink.

Hazelnuts are now beginning to ripen. As they are best eaten when they first ripen, they are worth seeking out, particularly after wind has tossed them to the ground. If picked too early, however, they will tend to have very little taste. They make a great addition to museli, can be added to home-made bread or grated and used as one of the ingredients in a nut cutlet.

There is an abundance of wild hops festooning the hedgerows leading to Binsey which look particularly beautiful at this time of the year. These can be used by those who enjoy brewing their own beer; and for those who don’t, they can be dried as decorations, or stuffed into a pillow to ensure a good night’s sleep. In the spring, their young shoots can be enjoyed chopped and gently fried in butter for a taste very similar to asparagus.

During our leisurely walk along the towpath Sophia pointed out that wild food is so rich in nutrients and energy she considers it the most nutritious food on the planet.

Besides, the very fact that foraging is an outdoor occupation which gets us out into the countryside must in itself be good for our health.

If you would like to learn more about Sophia’s philosophy towards wild food, you can go to www.wyldheart.co.uk. To get in touch with Sophia to arrange a bespoke foraging walk you can contact her by email on info@wyldheart.co.uk.

Tomorrow night she will be serving a Wild Food Feast and giving a presentation entitled Reconnecting to the Wild, at the Vaults & Garden, at the University Church, Radcliffe Square. Unfortunately most tickets to this event are now booked, but it may be worth visiting her website to check on availability if you would like to attend.